This invention relates to xerographic reproduction and specifically to a method of transferring xerographically reproduced images to cloth materials and other substrates such as polymer sheets to form permanent images. A method of forming xerographically reproduced permanent images on cloth would be useful as it would allow low-cost production of images on cloth for personalization of articles and formation of low-cost decorated clothing, household goods, decorative items, draperies or bedding. The formation of images on cloth heretofore could only be performed by expensive silk screening operations or by transfer of materials such as decals onto cloth. Even in the case of decals, while they allow a large variety of messages and images, there is still the limitation that the decals need to be separately formed usually in large quantity and do not allow the maker of the decorative item to personalize the decoration to any great extent. Therefore, an easy and inexpensive means for the production of images on cloth has been sought whereby any pictures or messages on paper could be reproduced on cloth cheaply and accurately.
The advent of xerography and electrostatic copying as generally disclosed by Carlson in U.S. Pat. No. 2,297,691 has proven to be a highly successful process for reproduction with the inherent advantages of speed and reliability. In a usual xerographic process, an electrostatic image on an object is formed on a recording member such as a xerographic plate or drum. The xerographic plate may comprise a layer of photoconductive material, such as selenium on a conductive metal backing. The latent electrostatic image which is formed on the photoconductive material is developed into a powder image which is then subsequently transferred on a sheet of paper and affixed thereon to form a permanent print.
The xerographic process has therefore proven to be an easy and reliable means for the production of transparencies. Transparencies made by a xerographic process are produced by forming an electrostatic image of the desired object, developing it, and then transferring it to a transparent sheet material with the image being permanently affixed or fused thereto by either the application of heat or by the action of a solvent vapor. In either case the toner which is used to develop the powdered image is coalesced on the sheet material by the fusing technique to form a permanent image thereon. Solvent fusion techniques for transparent materials made by a xerographic process, for example, are illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,049,810 and 3,148,078.
While the xerographic reproduction process is an apparent solution to the problem of economical and efficient production of cheap, individualized images on cloth, other problems have been encountered with its use in the production of such images. One of the most pronounced problems with producing cloth images or images on polymer sheets from xerographically produced images is the failure of the toner powder or developed toner image to adhere well to the cloth material. Images produced xerographically and then transferred to paper are generally fixed to paper by the action of heat and pressure within the copying machine. However, there are problems with the feeding of cloth in a xerographic machine and further there are problems in transfer of the powder image to a cloth material. It has been proposed that a fused colored xerographic toner image produced on a paper having a release coating be transferred to cloth by the action of heat and pressure to result in the transfer of the image to the cloth. However, such an image is not satisfactory as it does not have resistance to washing and has a tendency to crack when the cloth is flexed.